Jerome Calvary Lewis | Homicide Watch DC

Jerome Lewis Indicted in Samauri Jenkins Murder

Ivan Natividad — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 10:50:02 -0500

Jerome Lewis was arraigned Friday on charges of first-degree felony murder, arson, assault, first-degree child cruelty and threatening to kidnap in connection with the February fire death of 4-year-old Samauri Jenkins.

Lewis pleaded innocent to all charges and remains held pending a status hearing January 14, 2014.

Police and members of the fire department found Jenkins on February 17 around 3:15 a.m. on the 2600 block of 33rd Street Southeast unconscious and not breathing from a house fire. She was transported to a local hospital and admitted in critical condition. Two days later, Jenkins was pronounced dead.

An autopsy found Jenkins died from injuries sustained in the fire; the death was ruled a homicide.

Less than a week later Lewis, 46, who escaped the fire, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in Jenkins' death.

At a preliminary hearing in March, Metropolitan Police Detective John Johnson testified that Lewis owned the home that burned down and lived in the basement. Lewis rented out the top two floors to tenants, Johnson said.

Charging documents state that the day of the fire, a police officer walked over to the house after viewing smoke coming from it on a security camera nearby. The officer questioned Lewis and other residents who had escaped the blaze, but they began arguing, documents state.

Lewis broke a window and tried to enter the house and yelled, “There’s a kid in there. I’ma kill that b— for this. I’m not crazy.” But the other tenants accused Lewis of starting the fire and told officers that he was “crazy” and “hears voices.” The cause of the fire, though, is still being investigated, court documents state.

According to charging documents, in an interview with police, Lewis said he often has problems sleeping, and hears voices.

The day of the fire, Lewis told police he was smoking a cigarette and decided to throw the butt on a mattress in the basement where he slept. As the mattress burned he said “the voices were just talking and talking." Lewis said he grabbed the mattress outside but it went up in flames, court documents state.

The case is scheduled for a status hearing on January 24, 2014 with Judge John Ramsey Johnson.

"Substantial Probability" Found in Fire Death of Four-Year-Old Samauri Jenkins

Penny Ray — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 10:03:11 -0400

Judge John Ramsey Johnson found substantial probability Friday that Jerome Lewis intentionally set a fire that killed 4-year-old Samauri Jenkins last month.

Lewis will remain held while a grand jury investigates the case.

Lewis' defense attorney, Anthony Matthews, argued at the hearing Friday, that the government could not conclusively show that Lewis set the fire on purpose.

Lewis told detectives in the case that he had been smoking a cigarette and he decided to throw the butt on a mattress in the basement where he slept. He then watched the mattress as it burned and “the voices were just talking and talking.”

Lewis said that he grabbed the mattress and tried to take it out the back door, but it went up in flames.

Metropolitan Police Detective Sgt. John Johnson testified Friday that Lewis owned the home that burned down in the 2600 block of 33rd Street Southeast. Lewis lived in the basement and rented out the top two floors to tenants, Johnson said.

The documents say that during the early morning hours on February 17 a police officer saw smoke on a security monitor from a booth located across the alley from the home, and walked over to the residence. While the officer was questioning Lewis and other residents who had escaped the blaze, Lewis and the tenants began arguing, the documents say.

Lewis broke a glass window of the home in an attempt to enter the residence and yelled, “There's a kid in there. I'ma kill that b— for this. I'm not crazy.”

The tenants, though, accused Lewis of starting the fire and told officers that Lewis was “crazy” and “hears voices.”

Police asked Lewis to stay away from the window, but he took a fighting position against an officer and was arrested, documents state.

According to arrest documents, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia determined that burns and smoke inhalation caused the death of Jenkins. The medical examiner concluded that the manner of death was homicide.

The exact cause of the fire, though, is still being investigated.

When questioned at the police department's Homicide Branch, Lewis told officers he hadn't slept in two days, often has problems sleeping and hears voices, according to charging documents.

Matthews argued that Lewis' actions did not show he meant to harm others. He also said that Lewis' mental state at the time of the fire should be examined.

Johnson agreed that Lewis' mental state was an issue in the case, “but not at this stage.”

A felony status conference is scheduled for July 19.

Charging documents are below.

Jerome Lewis Charging Documents (PDF)Jerome Lewis Charging Documents (Text)

Jerome Lewis Ordered Held in Fire that Killed Four-Year-Old Samauri Jenkins

Vanya Mehta — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:53:28 -0500

Jerome Calvary Lewis was ordered held Saturday on suspicion of causing a fatal fire that killed a 4-year-old child.

Lewis, 46, is suspected of second-degree murder in connection with the case.

According to charging documents, firefighters found the child, Samauri Jenkins, unconscious in a second floor bedroom in the home on Feb. 17. Fire authorities believe that the fire spread from a basement apartment upward. The D.C. Fire Department is still determining the cause of the fire.

Charging documents say that a police officer was working across the street from the home and saw smoke. The officer went to investigate what was going on. When he arrived, Lewis, 46, was standing at the back of the house wearing an orange shirt, according to charging documents.

The officer heard someone say to Lewis, "You set the house on fire." Lewis responded by threatening to kill him, the documents state.

Six others were in the building, including a 2-year-old child, investigators say.

Another witness told a police that Lewis lived in the home's basement.

Lewis told police he was smoking a cigarette at the time of the fire and had not slept for two days. He said that his mattress started burning and he threw it outside, where it erupted in flames.

Other witnesses said Lewis had earlier made comments about destroying the building and hearing screaming and crashing sounds coming from the basement the day before the blaze.

Lewis is scheduled to appear before Judge John Ramsey Johnson March 15 at 10:30 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.

SE DC Fire Survivor Suspected of Murder in Death of 4-Year-Old

Laura Amico — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:13:54 -0500

A 46-year-old man who escaped a house fire in Southeast DC early Sunday morning has been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the blaze.

Police say that the man, Jerome Calvary Lewis, is responsible for the death of the four-year-old child in the fire.

That child, identified as Samauri Jenkins, was found unconscious and not breathing by firefighters responding to the fire at the home. She was pronounced dead Tuesday.

A press release from MPD is below.

February 22, 2013

Fire Death Ruled Homicide-Arrest Made: 2600 Block of 33rd Street, SE

(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced an arrest has been made in the fire death that occurred in the 2600 block of 33rd Street, SE.

On Sunday, February 17, 2013, at approximately 3:13 am, an officer reported seeing smoke and fire coming from a residence in the 2600 block of 33rd Street, SE. Once on the scene, police and fire department members were advised by family members that a female child was unaccounted for. A short time later, the female child, who was unconscious and not breathing, was located by members of the fire department. She was transported to a local hospital and admitted in critical condition. Several other residents of the home escaped the fire and were transported to local hospitals. A male toddler was treated and released, two adult females were admitted in stable condition, and an adult female was treated and released.

On Tuesday, February 19, 2013, the female child, 4 year-old Samauri Jenkins was pronounced dead.

On Wednesday, February 20, 2013, an autopsy was conducted and it has been determined that the child died from injuries sustained in the fire.

On Friday, February 22, 2013, the manner of the decedent’s death was ruled a homicide.

On February 22, 2013, 46-year-old Jerome Calvary Lewis, who also escaped the fire was arrested in the 500 block of Indiana Avenue NW, pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant charging him with Murder Two in the homicide of Samauri Jenkins.

The cause and origin of the fire is currently under investigation by the Arson Task Force, which includes members of MPD’s Homicide Arson Squad, members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and members of the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services.